Circuit breaker and controller



.|.' C. ANDERSON.

CIRCUIT BREAKER ANDCONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.22,1919.

1,400,929. Patented Dec; 20, 1921.

SSHEETS-SHEE-T l.

WITNESS: INVENTOR.

BY AHO'RNEYS.

J. c. ANDERSON.

CIRCUIT BREAKER AND CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-22,1919.

1 ,400, 929, Patented D60. 20, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' Willi! A TTO EYS.

J. c. ANDERSON.

CIRCUiT BREAKER AND CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-22, I919. 1,400,929. Patented Dec. 20, 1921 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

IN VEN TOR.

WITNESS:

' contacts at various engine UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. ANDERSON, OERUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO VARLEY DUPLEX MAG-NET COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

Application file d August 22, 1919. Serial No. 319,092.

T 0 all 'whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JAMES C. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rutherford, in the State of New Jerse have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circuit Breakers and Controllers," of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to the breaker systems for the ignition circuits of internal combustion engines and one useful application of my invention is to the ignition circuits of automobile engines. More particularly my invention has to do with the occurrence of the spark for ignitionrelative to the cycle of the engine, and also to the regulation of the dwell, as it is called, of the electrical speeds, that is, the relative duration of the periods of open and closed contact position.

As is well known, the relative instant of firing should be advanced as the speed of the engine increases, and this is commonly effected by changing the relation of the cam and cam follower which controls the movable contact in the breaker system, the adjustment being either manual or automatic or both. In some cases the cam is adjusted on its axis, and in others the breaker system is adjusted about the cam, the adjustment being concentric with the cam, that is, about the axis of the cam as a center.

The duration of dwell or closed position v of the breaker contacts must be for such a period as will enable the energy in the-primary coil to riselto the critical value required and controlled independently of the mechamsm for adjusting the occurrence of the spark.

An object of my invention is to provide simple and practical means for maintaining the period of electrical dwell substantially constant at varying engine speeds. Another object is to. coordinate the regulation of the occurrence of the spark and of the period of county of Bergen and dwell and therebyefiect both regulations by a single operation. Another object is to combine with the automatic means for effecting the double regulation, manual means for addinn to or subtracting from the automatic spark adjustment, the operation of which will not interfere with the automatic mechanism. Another object is to provide simple and reliable meanswhich can be conveniently associated with means for aocomplish- 6 ing the above objects and which will assure that the primary circuit will be open when the engine is not running, thereby conserving the current supply. Still other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following description.

My invention will be readily comprehended by reference to the diagrams constituting Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings.

Fig. l is a diagram representing a symmetrically lobed cam. v

Fig. 2 is an enlarged development of two lobes of the cam represented in Fig. 1 and illustrating the effect of moving the working a face of the cam follower radially outwardly.

Fig. 3 is a similar development illustrating the effect of moving the working face of the follower substantially parallel to the leading face of the cam lobe.

Fig. 4 is a similar development illustrating the effect of moving the working face of the follower diagonally outwardly as contemplated by my invention.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a development of a lobe of a cam which embodies my invention and illustrating the comparison between such a cam lobe and that of the symmetrically lobed cam of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged diagram of two lobes of a cam embodying the preferred form of my invention.

Fig. 7 is a central vertical section on line 7-7 of Fig. 8 of a breaker and controller mechanism embodying my invention.

Fig. 8 is a plan of the same with the cover removed.

Fig. 9 is a transverse section on line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

'l ig. 10 is a view Similar to Fig. 9 with the governor ring in horizontal position.

Fig. 11 is a sectional detail in elevation on line 11-11 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged diagrammatic plan of the cam and breaker'system.

It is understood that the cam follower 110 serves also as a circuit breaking and closing arm, and that contact of the cam follower with the leading face of the cam lobe breaks the electrical circuit, while the retreat of the follower from the trailing face of the cam lobe establishes the electrical circuit. Theangular distance between the break and make positions of the cam follower constitutes the dwell of the follower on the cam surface, and the difference between that distance and the angular distance between the centers of the cam lobes, that is, the angular distance between the make and break positions of the follower, constitutes v the dwell of the electrical circuit.

Ordinarily, with a given lobed cam, moving the working face of the follower in an arc con'centric'with' the axis of the cam merely varies the angular position at which electrical contact is made or broken, that is, the angular advance or relative occurrence of sparking, without affecting the duration of contact or dwell.

In Fig. 1 is represented asymmetrically lobed cam, while Figs. 2, 3 and 4 areenlarged developments of two lobes of the cam represented in Fig. 1. With such a cam, moving the working face of the follower outwardly, substantially radially, across the path of the cam lobes, increases the duration of electrical contact or dwell, but retards the spark occurring at the breaking of the circuit. This is clear from Fig. 2 in which the two positions of the follower are indicated in dotted lines when moved in the direction of the arrow (1.

If the working face of the follower be moved diagonally outward, substantially parallel to the leading face of the cam lobe, as represented by the arrow 1) in Fig. 3, the duration of electrical dwell is prolonged, but the occurrence of sparking remains constant or nearly so. This is clear from Fig.

3, where it appears that the cam follower will be struck by the leading face of the cam lobe at the same angular position in both positions of the follower.

My invention comprehends the relative movement of the working face of the cam follower diagonally outward to effect a regulation of the duration of the period of electrical dwell at varying engine speeds. In

its preferred adaptation my invention comprehends the relative movement of the cam follower substantially along a line which is the resultant of the two components of movement to effect the regulation of the occurrenoe of spark and of the duration of dwell of the electricalcircuit, thereby effecting the two regulations by a single move ment. Since the movement to change the occurrence of sparking is in an arc concentrio with the cam er'iphery, and the movement to change 't e duration of electrical dwell is outwardqalong a line substantially and the cam periphery indicated by the dotted line P, that is, at an angle to the tangent to the periphery, which in the development coincides with the periphery, less than that of the leading face of the cam lobe. This appears clearly from Fig. 4 in which the arrow 0 indicates the relative path of movement of the follower, and the relative position of the lobe A is indicated by dotted lines at the instant of breaking the contact in the advanced position of the cam follower.

To effect this movement I preferably mount the breaker system including the cam follower upon a pivot eccentric to the axis of the cam, the pivotal axis being located 35 in a line substantially normal to and bisect, ing the line connecting the points of contact of the cam follower with the cam at the] two extremes of adjustment of the cam fol-J lower. As the speed of the engine increases the breaker system is rotated on its pivot and the working face of the cam follower moves substantially along the line of the arrow 0. In this way at low engine'speedswith retarded spark a minimum of electrical contact is obtained, thereby conserving the supply of electrical energy; and at high engine speeds the spark occurs earlier to fully ignite the charge in the engine cylinders,

and electrical contact or dwell is maintained for a greater. angular distance on the shaft carrying the cam, whereby at higher engine speeds the dwell is not'unduly shortened.

In order to obtain greater precision to the occurrence of the spark, my invention also 1 comprehends a cam in which the leading face of its lobes .is at a greater angle to the tan ent to-the cam periphery than is the trai ing face, from which itwill be seen' that among other advantages, the breaking of the electrical circuit is accomplished with greater rapidity, giving a spark. of greater intensity. This will be apparent from the diagram of Fig. 5, from which it will be also seen that the variation in the duration of dwell for a given relative movementofthe cam and cam follower, is considerably greater than the variation in the occurrence of sparking.

Fig. 6 is a representation of-two lobes of a cam having a profile substantially that preferred by me, although the an les are somewhat exaggerated and the ra ial distances are enlarged to more clearly show the path of the cam follower. The two extremesibfadjustment of the cam follower are indicated by the two semi-circles marked- 7", one in full lines and one in dotted lines,

.the axis of movement bein on the line w-y which is normal to and blsects the centers I30 of the work face of the follower f in the two positions. I preferably pivot the breaker system on a point in the line a23,/ which is nearest the axis of the cam, as the point C, for I thereby obtain good proportionality throughout the entire range of adjustment, and I also find this desirable, in contradistinction to pivoting at a point outside the cam face, where automatic I point C as a center it will be observed that an angular adjustment of substantially 10 effects a change in the period of dwell of substantially 25 in a six lobed cam, the angular distance between the two positions f and f of the follower being the duration of dwell, which is shown as 15 in the innermost adjustment and 40 in the outermost adjustment. f is an imaginary position and represents merely the concentric component of the movement, that is the component which determines the angular advance or the adjustment of the occurrence of the spark. This component it will be noted is 10. It will be understood that these figures are only illustrative and approximate. While for the purpose of illustration I have arbitraril utilized a central portion of the path of the cam lobes in which the adjustment is made, it will be understood that the zone of adjustment may be in any portion of the cam path, and in practice the apex of the cam lobe may be cut off just beyond the outer position of adjustment of the follower, the cam faces being extended beyond the outer position only enough to insure sufiicient opening of the breaker contacts.

Figs. 7 to 12 illiistrate one practicable embodiment of my invention.

The shaft 1, which carries the cam 2 on its upper end, is driven from the engine and is also coupled to drive a distributor shaft 3.

The housing 4, which is constructed in two separable parts, is provided in its top wall with a central integral upright sleeve portion 5 which affords a bearing for the upper end of the shaft 1. Surrounding the sleeve 5 is a plate 6'which bears on top of the top wall of the housing 4 and has an upwardly extending hub portion 7 bearing upon the external surface of the sleeve 5, the external cylindrical surface of the hub portion being eccentric to the axis of the shaft 1 and having its center substantially in the location of the center 0 in Fig. 6. Surrounding the hub portion 7 is a turn table 8 or adjustable support for the breaker system, which has a concentric hub portion 9 bearing around the eccentric external surface of the hub 7. It is manifest, therefore, that if the turn table be rotated about the eccentric hub, the breaker system and cam follower Will be eccentrically adjusted about the cam substantially alon the direction of the arrow 0 in Fig. 4, while if the plate 6 be angularly rotated, the adjustment of the breaker system will be in an arc coaxial with the cam.

To adjust the turn table about the eccentric bearing, automatic speed .controlled means are provided. The turn table is resiliently biased in a clock wise direction as viewed in Fig. 8, by a thrust spring 10 which acts upon a radial extension 11 on the turn table through the medium of a thrust rod 12 which is slidable in a post 13 on the plate 6 and bears with a ointed end in a conical socket in the extension 11, thereby minimizing friction. A-lug on a post 14 on the plate 6 serves as a limiting stop for the extension 11.

To adjust the breaker system in a counter clock wise direction against the tension of the spring 10 mechanism is employed which is operated by a centrifugal governor. The specific governor employed for the purpose of illustration is a ring 15 which is carried by the shaft 1 and when at rest occupies the inclined position shown in Figs. 7 and 9, and tends under centrifugal y force to assume the horizontal position shown in Fig. 10. The ring 15 is carried by a sleeve 16 which is secured to the shaft 1 and is provided. with two opposite extensions 17 which afford bearings for the pivots 18 of the ring 15. The sleeve 16 and shaft 1 are slotted to accommodate a link 19 which is pivoted in ears 20 on the sleeve and bears with its free end upon a horizontal pin 21 carried by the governor ring 15 on the side of the shaft opposite the ears 20. Resting upon the, topof the link 19 is the lower end of a rod 22 which is vertically slidable in an axial bore in the upper end of the shaft 1, and protrudes slightly beyond the end of the shaft. This rod 22 actuates a bell crank lever 23 which is pivoted on a horizontal axis in the post 14 and a companion post 24 on the plate 6. One arm of the bell crank lever overhangs the axis of the shaft 1 and bears upon the top rounded end of the axial rod 22. The other arm of the bell crank engages the radial extension 11 on the turn table on the side opposite the thrust spring 10 through the agency of the rod 25 which is interposed between the arm of the bell crank and the extension lland is pointed at both ends and engages in conical sockets to minimize friction.

It is manifest that as the rod 22 is elethe bell crank 23 and the rod 25, and the turn table will be correspondingly rotated in a counter clock wise direction against the tension of the spring 10. This rotative movement of the turn table. is governed by the engine speed and serves both to advance the spark and prolong'the electrical dwell. In the illustrated breaker system the cam follower 26 which carries the movable contact is of the non-pivoted type, being carried by a flat spring which flexes to afford the requisite movement to the breaker arm. The elevation of thecam follower breaks the contact at point 27 and the resiliency of the flat spring causesthe contact to close as the cam follower rides off the trailing face of the cam lobe.

In Fig. 12 the breaker system is shown in full lines in the angular-position of substantially greatest retard, while it is shown in dotted lines in'the position of substantially greatest advance, the cam 2. being correspondingly shown in full and dotted lines the two positions which it occupies at the- 1n instant of engaging the cam follower in the two respective positions. As pointed out above the movement of the cam follower from the position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines serves both to advance the spark and prolong the relative period of electrical dwell, while the movement of the cam follower in the opposite direction under the influence of the spring 10 effects the oppositle adjustment to the spark and electrical wel As above explained conditions will sometimes require'that the angular adjustment of the spring which is automatically effected through the centrifugal governor be added to or subtracted from in order to obtain the best results. In the construction shown this may be manually done by-rotating the plate 6 and its eccentric hub '7. For this purpose the plate 6 is provided with an adjusting armi28 which is connected by a link 29 to any suitable place for manual manipulation, such as the steering post. Since the internal bearing surface of the hub 7 is concentric with the shaft 1, the adjustment of the plate 6 causes the corresponding angular adjustment of the cam follower 26 in an arc axial with that of the cam 2, which adjustment affects only the occurence of the; spark. It will be noted that this manual adjustment cannot result in injury to the automatic adjusting mechanism.;, This is due to the fact that the connection between the bell crank 23 and the rod 22 is only a point of bearing or engagement, which depending arm of the bellcrank 23 bears at its lower end against a fiat spring 30 which carries the movable contact 3'1. While the arm of the bell crank is retracted by the spring 10, it holds the contact open as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and as soon as the engine starts and the shaft 1 is rotated the governor ring operates to rockthe bell crank clear of the spring arm 30 and permits the contact 31 to close. The governor is preferably sufiiciently sensitive to close the contact 31 at the number of revolutions per minute imparted to the governor by the cranking motor, although, in order to get a closed primary circuit while the engine is being cranked, a'branch may be provided around the contact 31 in which there is a suitably manually controlled switch.

While the lobes of the cam are shown and described as having a straight or plane leading face, it will be understood that if curved faces are employed, the description will apply to the tangent to such curves.

y invention is in no wise limited to the particular construction which has been chosen for the purpose of illustration, but may be variously otherwise employed without departing from the scope of the appended-claims. For instance,as above suggested, it is obvious that with any suitable cam the ordinary governor construction maybe employed to effect the adjustment of the 00* currence of the spark, and the breaker system may be mounted for relative outward movement, such as radial, to regulate the duration of electrical dwell, as indicated in Fig. 2; and other obvious modifications may be made within the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. For the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a rotative shaft connected to be driven by the engine, a breaker cam carried by the shaft, a bearing sleeve for the shaft having a concentric external bearing surface, a bearing member adjustably bearing about the sleeve and having an eccentric external bearing surface, a breaker system including a cam follower controlled by the cam, and an angularly adjustable support for the breaker system bearing about the external surface of the bearing member.

2. i For the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a rotative shaft connected to be driven by the engine, a breaker cam carried by the shaft, a bearing sleeve 'bearing surface,

for the shaft having'a concentric external a bearing member adjustably bearing about the sleeve and having an eccentric external bearing surface, a breaker system including a cam follower controlled by the cam, an angularly adjustable support for the breaker system hearing about the external surfaceof the bearing member, and a centrifugal governor rotative with the shaft and arranged to control the angular position of the support. 4

3. For the ignition circuit of internal combustion engines, the combination of a breaker cam, a cam follower adapted to open and close an ignition circuit and mounted for adjustment relative to the cam, a lever for adjusting the cam follower, a movable contact member in an ignition circuit controlled by the lever, and a centrifuge rotated by the engine and arranged to control the lever and operative in its innermost position to hold the lever in the open circuit position of the contact member.

4. For the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine including a pair of breaker contacts, a shaft connected to be rotated by the engine, a movable contact closer independent of the breaker contacts and having a bias to closed position, a bell crank lever arranged to control the contact closer and. biased to normally hold the contact closer open, and a centrifugal governor rotatable with the shaft and operative to move the bell crank lever against its bias and permit the contact to close and thereafter to continuously hold the bell crank lever clear of the contact closer.

5. For the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a rotative shaft connected to be driven by the engine, a breaker cam carried by the shaft, a breaker system including a cam follower controlled by the cam, an angularly adjustable support for the breaker system, a movable contact closer in the circuit independent of the breaker system, and a centrifugal governor rotatable with the shaft and arranged to control both the contact closer and the adjustable support.

6. For the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a rotative shaft connected to be driven by the engine, a breaker cam carried by the shaft, a breaker system including a cam follower controlled by the cam, an angularly adjustable support for the breaker system, resilient means tending to hold the support in one angular position, a movable contact closer in the circuit independent of the breaker system, a pivotal bell crank lever arranged to oppose the resilient means and controlling the contact closer, and a centrifugal governor rotatable with the shaft and having operative connection with the bell crank lever.

7. For the ignition circuit of an internal able to open and combustion engine, a shaft connected to be driven by the engine, a lobed breaker cam carried by the shaft and having the leading face of the lobe at a more acute angle to the radial plane including the line of intersection of the leading and trailing faces'than is the trailing face, a breaker system comprising a supporting plate .pivoted eccentrically to the axis of the cam, a pair of contacts carried by the plate, one of which is movable to open and close the ignition circuit, a cam follower controlling the movable contact, the pivoted axis of the supporting plate being so located relative to the axis of the cam that pivotal movement of the plate causes the'cam follower to describe a path eccentric to the axis of the cam having both a radial and a circumferential component, and means responsive to the speed of the engine for controlling the angular adjustment of the supporting plate about its pivotal axls.

8. For the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a shaft connected to be driven by the engine, a lobed breaker cam carried by the shaft and having the leading face of the lobe at a more acute angle to the radial plane including the line of intersection of the leading and trailing faces than is the trailing. face, a breaker system comprising a supporting plate pivoted eccentrically to the axis of the cam, a pair of contacts carried by the plate, one of which is movable to open and close the ignition circuit, a cam follower controlling the movable contact, the pivoted axis of the supporting plate being so located relative to the axis of the cam that pivotal movement of the plate causes the cam follower to describe a path eccentric to the axis of the cam having both a radial and a circumferential component, and a centrifugal governor rotatable with the shaft and operatively connected to the supporting plate to control the angular adjustment of the supporting plate about its pivotal axis.

9. F or the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a shaft connected to be driven by the engine, a lobed breaker cam carried by the shaft and having the leading face of the lobe at a more acute angle to the radial plane including the line of intersection of the leading and trailing faces than is the trailing face, a breaker system comprising a supporting plate pivoted eccentrically to the axis of the earn, a pair of contacts carriedby the plate, one of whichis movclose the ignition circuit, a cam follower controlling the movable contact, the pivotal axis of the supporting plate being so located relative to the axis of the cam that pivotal movement of the plate causes the cam follower to describe a path eccentric to the axis of the cam having both a radial and a circumferential component,

a movable contact closer, and a centrifugal governor rotatable with the shaft and arranged in control of both the contact closer and the angular adjustment of the supporting plate about its pivotal axis.

10. For the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a-rotative cam, a breaker system including a cam follower adjustable angularly relative to the cam upon an axis eccentric to the cam, adjustable mechanism for the breaker system mounted for coaxial adjustment relative to the cam, and speed controlled means for actuating the adjusting mechanism having an operative connection therewith coaxial with the cam.

11. For the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a rotative cam, a breaker system including a cam follower mounted for angular adjustment both eccentrically and concentrically of the cam, and automatic speed-controlled means for effecting the eccentric adjustment.

12. F or the ignition circuit of an internal combustion engine, a rotative cam, a breaker system including a cam follower mounted for angular adjustment both eccentrically and concentrically of the cam, automatic speed-controlled means for effecting the em centric adjustment, and manually operative means for effecting the concentric adjustment.

In witness whereof, I subscribe. my signature.

JAMES C. ANDERSON. 

